To say that the Sharks have had the Philadelphia
Flyers number might be the understatement of the year. After falling behind 4-1
in the 3rd period, the Sharks rallied to force the game to overtime, then were
saved by the clock in the extra session before winning in the shootout. The
Flyers may still be trying to figure out what hit them, as they fell to the
Sharks for the 12th time in a row over the last ten years.

Being an
Eastern Conference team, the Flyers dont see San Jose that often, which
after Wednesday nights result may be a blessing for Philadelphia. The
Flyers seemed destined to snap the Sharks dominance after Scott Hartnell put
the home team up 4-1 in Philadelphia with 13:45 to play in regulation, but
Jason Demers, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski all scored over a 4 minute span to
stun the Wells Fargo Center crowd.

The end of the game was the
antithesis of the opening period, which lacked much sizzle. Philadelphia
controlled the first 10 minutes of play, outshooting San Jose 9-2 by
mid-period. The Sharks would weather the storm on strong goaltending by former
Flyer Antero Niittmaki.

San Jose would negate all Philadelphias
hard work with 4.1 seconds left in the opening period, when Ryane lowe
deflected a Niklas Wallin shot past Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. San
Jose won a faceoff in the Flyers end off a Joe Thornton draw. Wallin fired the
puck left of the goal, but the shot hit Clowe in the skate, deflecting from a
wide angle past Bobrovksy.

Claude Giroux would knot the game at 1-1 at
6:21 of the 2nd period on a rebound chance in tight. Jeff Carter deflected a
Braydon Coburn blast from the right point that hit Niittymaki in the crest.
Giroux was parked on the doorstep for the put back.

Philadelphia took
at 2-1 lead on a Ville Leino spin-o-rama shot from the bottom of the left
circle at 10:20. Niittmaki was partially screened by traffic out in front,
allowing the Leino shot to deflect off the left post for his 6th goal of the
season.

Philadelphia took a 3-1 lead less than a minute later when
Nikolay Zherdev bounced a shot off the back of Niittymakis right pad from
the left side of the Sharks goal.

San Jose appeared to cut the
Philadelphia lead to 3-2 on the ensuing faceoff, after a Scott Nichol
wraparound chance deflected off John McCarthys skate and into the goal.
Officials negated the score after a lengthy video review, ruling that McCarthy
kicked the puck into the net.

The Sharks seemed to everything wrong to
start the 3rd period. Jason Demers took a hooking penalty a minute into the
period. The Sharks would kill off the penalty, but they failed to keep the
Flyers off the board.

Hartnell pushed the flyers lead to three goals
at 6:15, tapping in a Matt Carle pass from the left wing boards. Hartnell raced
to the Sharks goal as Carles pass deflected off the back of Dan Boyle,
redirecting right to Hartnell on the right post. Sharks defenseman Douglas
Murray failed to get back, allowing Hartnell to easily tap in his 7th goal of
the season.

The next 19 minutes would be nothing short of remarkable.

Demers started the improbable comeback with a goal at 7:33, rifling a
shot from the top of the right circle after Dany Heatley slid a pass thru the
slot to the Sharks defenseman. The shot hit the crossbar, deflecting down and
across the goal line for Demers 1st goal of the year.

Logan Couture cut the Flyers lead to a single goal
with 9 minutes remaining in regulation with his 13th of the season. The rookie
drove to the net, lifting a rebound past Bobrovski after Clowe tried
backhanding a shot from the right side. Couture dive bombed the net, trying to
sniff out the puck. That would pay off when Clowes shot deflected right
out to him.

A Daniel Briere tripping penalty at 11:26 provided the
crack the sharks would need to complete the comeback. Pavelski wasted no time,
pumping a faceoff draw into the Philadelphia net 2 seconds into the power play.
Joe Thornton chipped the faceoff over to the right side from the left dot, to
Pavelski who walked in and roofed a shot past Bobrovski to tie the game at 4-4.

Pavelski would give the Flyers a chance to avenge the goal by taking a
tripping penalty with 7 to play in regulation, but Briere would cut Scott
Nichol with a high stick, earning himself a 4-minute visit to the penalty box.

San Jose missed their chance to grab the lead on the extended power
play, which almost came back to bite them. Philadelphia finished off regulation
with a series of quality scoring chances, including a cross ice pass to Carle
that the former Sharks defenseman failed to handle.

Offsetting
penalties to Murray and Kimo Timmonen in the overtime, forced a 3-on-3
situation for the final two minutes. The last play of the extra session would
prove to be the most agonizing for the Flyers and their fans.

With 5
seconds left in the period, Mike Richards carried the puck up ice and into the
Sharks zone, allowing Briere to get to the net. His shot clipped Heatley in the
skate, redirecting past Niittymaki and into the Sharks goal. Video replay
showed that the puck was straddling the goal line as time expired, so the goal
was disallowed. The puck couldnt have been any closer to ending the
contest.

In the Shootout, Philadelphia elected to shoot first. Briere
tried a backhand move that Niittymaki stoned with his right pad. Couture also
went backhand, sliding a shot between Bobrovskis pads for a goal. Giroux
completely missed the net with a shot that went wide left. Clowe ended things
with his patented backhand roofer that tucked under the crossbar.

Game Notes:

The Flyers last beat San Jose on December 21, 2000. The
comeback marked the first time in franchise history that they overcame a
three-goal deficit in the 3rd period to win a game in franchise history.

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